What it Takes
by SilverKovu
Summary: Waking up in a building with a bomb set to go off was not my idea of fun. Digging a piece of glass into my arm was even less so. It all works out in the end though, right?


Admittedly, it took me a little longer than three minutes to assess my situation. Leo would have rolled his eyes at my lack of attentiveness, but somehow I think he would have skipped out on the lecture, you know, considering I'm chained to a chair and everything. Not to mention that my arm's numb and pounding in agony. What the shell was wrong with it anyways?

I shook my head to rid myself of the panic rising in my chest. After breathing in and out to calm myself, I glanced around the room, not finding it comforting that I seemed to be completely alone. Whoever left me by myself in a corroded building (and I'm just _guessing_ it was the Foot) didn't even bother to rant about their masterful plan to me before leaving. Seriously, what villain takes a hostage and leaves them unattended? They had obviously never watched any spy movies.

I was beginning to think this whole thing was some sort of big joke until I heard a monotonous beeping sound. My heart froze for a split second, and my eyes widened in horror. No way…

"Please don't be a bomb…" I whispered to myself. The sound was coming from the right, and my head instinctively turned towards it. Sure enough, a box of dynamite was attached to the far right of the building, the timer on it displaying the numbers 1:00. "Shell!"

Adrenaline was pumping through my veins, and my instincts kicked into overdrive. With some quick planning, I rocked the chair I was tied to back and forth, waiting until my body weight tipped me over onto my feet. The position I was in was awkward, but I didn't have to worry about struggling to walk with the chair positioned as it was. I simply moved towards the wall, swung my body towards it, and smashed the chair upon impact.

Panting from the effort, I dragged myself off the floor, vaguely aware that one of the chains I had been tied down with was still attached to my wrist. There was no use worrying about it now. I had to get out of here before the bomb went off. With that thought in mind, I pushed my legs into a sprint. Old saw dust and the like attached itself to my feet, making me wonder what this building used to be used for.

The beeping seemed to grow louder as I charged towards one of the broken windows with the intention of smashing through it. I wasn't sure whether I'd have time to make it out of the shockwave, but for now, I guess I just needed to worry about making it out of the initial explosion.

I launched myself towards the window, having enough sense to cover my head at the last second, and felt myself go airborne before I was rolling off of the ground. Despite feeling bits of glass in my skin, I sprang back up onto my feet, mentally cheering myself on as I darted across the concrete pavement.

"C'mon…" I willed my feet to go faster even though I knew it wouldn't happen. My luck had been through the roof up until this point, so it only made sense for something to rain on my parade. And when I say something, I mean the debris.

The entire building erupted into a giant flame. I was pushed off my feet and sent flying through the air, heat blowing over me like a blanket. A scream erupted from my throat, but I couldn't even hear myself. My eardrums burst, and let me tell you, it hurt like a bitch.

I laid on the ground, dazed. The explosion had given me temporary loss of my hearing, making me realize that all I had to go off from now on was my sight, smell, and touch. The information didn't properly register in my head, but once it did, I took a few puffs of air and crawled away from the flames. Firemen and police officers were sure to show up soon (the explosion was not a subtle one), so I knew that I had to get out of sight.

My first idea was to find a manhole and find my way home from there, only, I didn't know my exact location. It would take a little scouting around to find my bearings, and until I could do that, the best thing for me to do right now would be to find a place to lay low and hide.

Getting to my feet took a little more effort than I was expecting. They were shaking and it made me feel unbalanced. It took me a moment before I could actually get them to move. Pieces of the building were scattered everywhere, so I had to make sure to watch where I was stepping. The last thing I needed was to injure my foot, especially since my left arm was already down for the count, and my hearing was nonexistent.

The last of my adrenaline was able to take me to an alley shielded by shadows. There were a few nooks ad crannies that I would be able to hide myself away in, and the general area seemed to be deserted. Knowing there was a high possibility that no one would find me here, I collapsed beside a dumpster, finding it nice to lean against its cold metal. It felt like heaven after having to endure the scorching heat from the explosion.

It was as if remembering the incident elicited my injuries to flare in pain. My lips mashed together as I finally took the chance to check out how bad my arm actually was. To my surprise, there was blood coated around my bicep, an ugly wound underneath it all. It looked like someone had slit my arm with a knife, and had then tugged the skin apart. Curiously, I felt around the inflamed area, pressing around it gently, and wiping the blood off. There was something off about the gash. Sure, it was red and gross looking, but underneath it all there was a strange bump. The feeling of it was similar to that of getting a piece of gravel stuck in your skin. And as far as I knew, I hadn't been in some accident before the Foot snagged me and left me to die.

Maybe the Foot had injected something in my arm that was causing it to swell, or maybe I had been stabbed with a kunai and had just forgotten about it. There was too many different possibilities of what it could be from for me to simply forget about it and worry about it later. Besides, If it was making my arm go numb than it had to be something bad, right?

With the pace of a snail, I held my breath and gently began to pry my skin apart. The pain that came with the action was immense. Dizziness suddenly came over me, making me drop my hand from its position. The nerves in my damaged arm flared to life, and I couldn't help but groan. If Raph were here than he'd probably call me out and say that I was whimpering.

The incident made me want to forget about the wound for the time being, because it just hurt so bad, and I'd rather have Don or Leo look at it when I got home, but something in my head told me that the problem needed to be taken care of now.

Sweat was beading at my brow, my arms were shaking, and my breathing pattern was far from where it should be. Despite all of that, I brought my hand back up to the gash and prodded at the peeled skin. Some blood leaked out and it looked like there was some puss mixed in there. It looked disgusting. Still, it didn't deter me from the task at hand. I pushed down on one side of the skin, and for a moment, all I saw was red. It wasn't until some of the blood flowed out that I saw what was causing the problem.

Eyes widening in horror, I stared at the little device lodged into my flesh, it's small glowing light indicating that it was some kind of tracking device. Holy shell… the Foot cut me open and put a tracker in my arm. It took a second for the information to sink in, but once it did, a terrifying thought occurred to me.

"They know where I am…"

It all made sense to me now. The Foot's initial plan was to blow me up in the building, but if that plan failed, and I somehow got free, then they would be able to follow me back to the lair. On one hand they would have killed me, but if that didn't work out than they would have followed me and attacked my brothers and Splinter.

The idea of it all was scary enough to send me into a panic. I still had the tracker in my arm, so the Foot could still find me. In fact, who's to say they weren't already on their way to come get me now?

Knowing that they very well could show up at any second, I decided that I needed to get out of here. Only, the tracker was still a problem. I'd need to destroy it before I could go anywhere. There was no way I was going anywhere near my family until it was nothing more than a pile of dust. To do that, I'd need to get a good grip on it to pull it out, or I'd need something to dig it out with. It was obvious that my fingers were too big to get a grip on it, and forcing them inside the wound would probably make me black out, therefore, I was going to have to cut it out. Only question was, what would I use to get it?

Looking around, I noticed that my options were limited. There wasn't that many materials in the alley that would be able to do the job. The only thing I could find that would work was some glass. And as painful as it sounded, I knew that it would have to be done. There really was no way of avoiding it.

I reached over and snagged the least jagged piece of glass I could find, making sure to rub any grime off of it. The procedure had to be done fast, but my lack of courage was making me hesitate. The idea of digging a piece of glass into my arm made me squirm and made my toes curl. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to have my brothers here with me. They would've been able to help me through the process. I could imagine Leo holding my arm steady, his confidence giving me self-assurance. I could see Raph squatting down in front of me, whispering words of encouragement. Then Don would be standing over me, guiding me threw the process with his ever present patience.

Even though they weren't here physically guiding me through the process, I could still feel their support. I focused on them as I brought the piece of glass up to my arm, paused, and then shifted the edge of the glass underneath the small electronic device. It hurt a lot more than I imagined it would. In fact, I think a few tears probably slipped down my beak. Both white and black flashed before my eyes, but somehow, I was able to stay conscious. Sweat was pouring off of me now, and I had to push my shell against the wall to keep myself from squirming. The glass finally managed to get underneath the tracker, and once I was sure it was secure, I gently eased it out.

The glass and the tracker were both bloody once I was done with them, and the gash in my arm was running once more. My eyes stayed focus on the flow until I was able to get my breathing back under control. Once it was, I untied my mask from my face and wrapped it around the wound. Hopefully it would clot soon.

The next step of business was destroying the tracker. I wasn't exactly sure I could break it just by pinching it, so I set it against the wall and used the flat side of the glass to crush it. Sure enough, the device shattered into itty bitty pieces.

A huge weight lifted off of my shoulders, and I finally was able to smile.

* * *

When I got home all of my brothers latched onto me like leeches, and I assumed they were asking me where I'd been and what happened to me. Behind them stood Splinter. He looked worried and relieved all at once, and it was with that look that I grinned and hugged them all.

I looked at Leo, saw his mouth moving, and remembered that I had to explain that I was in an explosion and couldn't hear what they were saying. So I held my hand up to silence all of them and told them what happened. I was probably talking louder than I should have, due to not being able to hear my own voice, but they endured it for my sake. Once I finished telling them the story, they ushered me to the couch to take care of my injuries.

Knowing they would take care of me from now on, I settled into the couch and relaxed, content now that I was back home.

* * *

This idea came to me out of nowhere this morning. It took me about three and a half hours to write, so I apologize if it's a little messy. This is my second TMNT story, so I hope you guys liked it.

Again, this story was based off the 2k3 version, but I think it will also work for the 2k12 version. Whatever floats your boat.

Reviews would be appreciated. Thank you!


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